Pathology elective

[Mr. Plow]

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I'm an ambitious MS3 path wannabe and I have a question about the timing of doing a path elective 4th yr. I plan on taking a path elective as early as possible, however it appears that my school doesn't offer much until August (surg. path). Will taking this elective, in hopes of getting one or more LORs, be cutting it too close to ERAS deadlines? Should I try to do an away elective in July? Words of wisdom from the experienced will be much appreciated. 🙂

 

[yaah]

I wouldn't worry about august being too late for a recommendation. Your application doesn't even go out until sometime in september (at the earliest - because the school still has to send out your dean's letter). Maybe other people disagree with me.

You could also try to do an away elective in july. Some places are tougher to get because they don't even accept applications for their electives until may or so, but there are others that let you apply whenever you want.

 

[Doctor B.]

I agree August is not too late for a surg path rotation provided you are certain you are doing path. If you are on the fence between path and something else, try to do surg path in July to give yourself ample time for a decision.

If I remember correctly, letters of rec can be added to your application even after the application itself has been submitted (up to a point).

 

[Mr. Plow]

Thanks for the input guys.

I am strongly considering pathology at this point although I can't really be certain until I get some experiences under my belt. I think I will try to do an away elective in July, if possible. I'd like to do one at Univ. of Washington, since it's within driving distance (plus I wouldn't mind matching there!). Has anyone done an elective at UW or have heard anything about it from someone who has?

 

[GeoLeoX]

As a fellow OHSUer who is planning on path for this year, I agree that August is not too late. I did a rotation in July and got a letter very promptly thereafter. For the most part path programs recommend that you finish your ERAS before the end of Sept., and I also believe as the previous post states that you can add and assign letters until they are sent to the programs. - From the ERAS website:"Once you have sent a LOR or Personal Statement to a program, you can no longer make changes to that specific document. If you want to make a change, you must de-assign the original document, create a new LOR record or Personal Statement, and assign the new document in place of the old document"

Hope this helps,

Geo

 

[Mr. Plow]

Hey GeoLeoX, thanks for the advice. It's nice to see another OHSUer around here. Did you do your July elective at OHSU? If so, how was it?

 

[GeoLeoX]

I did an away rotation. Since I am in the Army, they will likely be seeing me next July. I went to the Army Hospital near Tacoma (Madigan). It was convenient. All there held the UW program in high esteem. I will be going to Washington, DC next month to the AFIP. That's where I would like to go.

Geo

ps. I have heard good things about our path dept., in addition to my experience with them at tumor boards and on onc services, such as gyn onc and Gold surgery.